The Eight Character Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey – Mythcreants

In The Hero of a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell demonstrated that many of the most popular stories, even over thousands of years and across cultures, shared a specific formula. That formula is now commonly referred to as mythic structure, or the hero’s journey. Even if you’ve never heard of it before, you’ve consumed this “monomyth” in works like Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Along with a specific plot structure, the hero’s journey has a repeating cast of characters, known as character archetypes. An archetype doesn’t specify a character’s age, race, or gender. In fact, it’s best to avoid stereotyping by steering clear of the demographics people associate with them. What archetypes really do is tell us the role a character plays in the story. Thinking about your characters in terms of their archetype will allow you to see whether they’re pulling their weight, or if they’re useless extras.

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